Update...

First off - I haven't been blogging much. Life has been busy, and to be honest, I haven't really felt like it. I love reading other blogs, and there are those I visit on a daily basis (and I get ticked pretty quickly when I don't see a new blog entry - talk about being a hypocrite...). So for those who have dropped me a line asking where the heck I am - I am still here, but feeling pretty blah about the whole blogging thing.

The boys have been great - Ethan has developed an interest in all things S.E.X and baby related - I think Auntie K who is expecting in a few months may have something to do with it :). Out of nowhere he will ask me about boy parts and girl parts and baby stuff - I can't say I wasn't ready for it, but man, I just want him to be my baby forever and never grow up.

Nicholas has been having his head examined - for fun and a bit of cash. A few months ago, I signed him up for a study looking at social interactions of toddlers. Since I was a science geek back in the day (now you can just drop the "science" part of it), I have always been interested in experiments, especially the ones that don't invlove killing something or the stench of formaldehyde.

This experiment on the whole was fairly simple, and Nicholas' education fund got a bit of an injection. Suffice it to say that my son is one little thinker - I don't think this series of experiments was a pass or fail kind of thing, but if you get points for making the experimenter laugh his butt off, then my kid probably kicked every other toddler's ass. I can't go into any great detail, but the series of experiments basically involved Nicholas interacting with a pimply faced twenty something guy who obviously has not been around children much. He was really nice, but was puzzled at the fact that he couldn't always direct Nicholas to do exactly what he wanted him to do when he wanted it.

One of the experiments involved fish crackers. The tester would show Nicky the cracker, hide it (while Nicholas watched) and then tell him that he couldn't have it until a bell was rung. Nicholas looked at the tester as though he was nuts, lifted the cup where the cracker was hidden and popped it into his mouth. This whole exercise was repeated about four times, each time the tester getting a wee bit more agitated. Finally he told Nicholas that he absolutely couldn't have the cracker until the tester rang the bell (what two year old knows the word "absoultely"?). Nicholas - to his credit - waited....about five seconds, and the he reached over, rang the bell himself and got the cracker. The tester just about wet himself he was laughing so loud. It was a proud, proud moment for mama.

Hubby and I are still plodding along - he has been getting more heavily into the dragonboating thing and a wee bit of golf on the side. My running (or more of a shuffle) is still going - I ran a 10 K race a couple of weeks ago, and am training for a half marathon....haven't decided I am actually going to do it yet, but it sure sounds good to say I am training for it...mind you, while I was running the 10 K I thought to myself NEVER AGAIN. I guess it is kinda like childbirth - you forget the pain. Sort of.

When it doesn't rain...

This is why I love Vancouver....it is just such a beautiful place (even when it rains). I took these pics this past Easter weekend at my folks place - they live on an island just outside of Vancouver.

so much to do, so little time....

When I first started this blog I was pretty good about posting something every day or two. I look now and I am shocked that it has been over a week. It isn't that I don't think of things to blog about, but it just seems like I don't have much time, and all I want to do is crash on the couch at the end of the day. I was thinking of all the things I have to get done in the next week or two and honestly, I am scared to write it all down. Between work, preschool, photography and miscellaneous other stuff, I hardly have time to breathe it seems.

One thing that I did start a few months ago was running. I joined a running clinic with the hopes that I could finish a 10 kilometer run. The big test is next week's Vancouver Sun Run. I have run 10K a couple of times, and suprisingly, didn't collapse at the end. Thank goodness for the running group, there are some days it takes ALL MY ENERGY to get out the front door, especially when it is pissing down rain. There has been talk amongst the group that we may start training for the Victoria half marathon....I think I might give it a try and see what happens. The thought of running 21 kilometers without stopping is a bit daunting though.

I have never been a runner. Years ago I was a swimmer, but I got so burned out that the smell of chlorine almost makes me wretch. The nice thing about swimming is that it is great exercise, and the stress on your body is pretty minimal. I am hoping one day to get back into the pool (maybe join a masters swim team) but right now I am doing the running thing and enjoying it quite a bit.

In the next few weeks I hope to have up some of the photos from the wedding that I did about a month ago...gotta get on that!

Milestone....

I wrote quite awhile ago here about Ethan's little ritual of getting completely naked when he goes to the bathroom to poo (I have no idea why I find it so weird to type "poo". I have no problems with shit, crap, dump, #2, but "poo" just feels funny to type out). Typically, he just announces that he has to do a poo-poo, and proceeds to gear down to nothing (including socks) right where he is standing. It could be the living room, family room, kitchen...you name the place, and he has gotten naked there. In fact, after Christmas dinner this year, he got down from the dinner table, stripped, and streaked through the house to get to the bathroom. At that point I decided that we would work on the whole getting naked thing.

I am pretty damed lucky that he hasn't had to go while at preschool - I explained to the teacher that he gets naked when he poops, and her first question to me was "where did he learn that?". Hmmmmm....I have no idea. I think that she thought that we just all get naked as a matter of course to go to the can in our house. Actually, I am sure that it stems from the time that he got his shirt wet when he was taking a pee - Ethan hates being dirty or messy, and I guess that this memory is etched in his little mind and every time he goes to the can, he wants to make sure he will stay as clean as possible.

So I figured that I would try something this week to get him to go to the bathroom with his clothes on. I had tried in the past to do it in baby steps, leaving his socks on, then his shirt, etc...but that didn't work. We didn't get past the socks. So in despiration I did what all the parenting books tell you not to. I bribed him. With a toy. I told him that if he did a poo poo with all his clothes on, I would buy him a special treat (thank goodness for dollar stores!). It worked. A little too well. No fights, no arguements, no nothing. He trotted off to the can, did his business, and that was it. I was fearful that I would have to buy him special treats every time he took a shit until he was 21. Thank goodness that (at least to this point) it seems as though one small firetruck is all that it took. For now.